Chewing gum sculptures, a wealthy gallerist, a notorious murder case, and the segregated south - it's all part of Nellie Mae Rowe's boundless universe. This World Is Not My Own reimagines this self-taught artist's world and her life spanning the 20th century.
Marepe (2006)
Marepe, an artist from Bahia, produces art with anything he comes across in the town he lives in, Santo Antônio de Jesus. Packs of cigarettes, coconut palms, walls, and memories taken from the streets, go into putting together a personal archeology for this young artist.
Traces: The Kabul Museum 1988 (2003)
The Kabul National Museum, once known as the "face of Afghanistan," was destroyed in 1993. We filmed the most important cultural treasures of the still-intact museum in 1988: ancient Greco-Roman art and antiquitied of Hellenistic civilization, as well as Buddhist sculpture that was said to have mythology--the art of Gandhara, Bamiyan, and Shotorak among them. After the fall of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, some seventy percent of the contents of the museum was destroyed, stolen, or smuggled overseas to Japan and other countries. The movement to return these items is also touched upon. The footage in this video represents that only film documentation of the Kabul Museum ever made.
Pop Goes the Easel (1962)
Pop Goes the Easel was Ken Russell’s first full-length documentary for the BBC’s arts series Monitor. It focused on 4 British Pop Artists - Peter Blake, Peter Philips, Pauline Boty and Derek Boshier.
Your War (I'm One of You): 20 Years of Joan of Arc (2017)
Your War (I'm One Of You) chronicles the life and career of Chicago's Tim Kinsella, frontman of ever-shifting band Joan of Arc and '90's pioneers Cap'n Jazz. With appearances from Tim's friends, family, and admirers, we learn what has made his legacy so unique and enduring for more than 20 years.
What is Minimalism? : The American Perspective 1958-1968 (2004)
Featuring notable Minimalist artists such as Bride Marden, Claes Oldenburg, and Donald Judd, What is Minimalism: The American Perspective 1958-1968 explores the movement during an explorative exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Los Angeles. Exhibition curator, Ann Goldstein, walks us through multiple rooms of the exhibit and offers her insight on Minimalism and its role in our society, stating that "It marked a fundamental, and critical and pivotal and irrevocable change in the course of art history," (Ann Goldstein). This film observes and analyzes the compelling creative choices behind some of the featured artists most applauded works of art.
1/57: Experiment with Synthetic Sound (Test) (1957)
Mostly dark, rejecting images which are repeated. A stone wall, the chamber of a revolver which is, at first not recognizable, a close-up of a cactus. The duration of the takes emphasises the photographic character of the pictures, simultaneously with a crackling, brutal sound. (Hans Scheugl)
The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism (2017)
Taking its lead from French artists like Renoir and Monet, the American impressionist movement followed its own path which over a forty-year period reveals as much about America as a nation as it does about its art as a creative power-house. It’s a story closely tied to a love of gardens and a desire to preserve nature in a rapidly urbanizing nation. Travelling to studios, gardens and iconic locations throughout the United States, UK and France, this mesmerising film is a feast for the eyes. The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism features the sell-out exhibition The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement, 1887–1920 that began at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and ended at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Joseph Cornell: Worlds in a Box (1991)
This is a 1991 documentary film about the legendary artist and filmmaker, Joseph Cornell, who made those magnificent and strange collage boxes. He was also one of our great experimental filmmakers and once apparently made Salvador Dali extremely jealous at a screening of his masterpiece, Rose Hobart. In this film we get to hear people like Susan Sontag, Stan Brakhage, and Tony Curtis talk about their friendships with the artist. It turns out that Curtis was quite a collector and he seemed to have a very deep understanding of what Cornell was doing in his work.
Preschool to Prison (2023)
Preschool to Prison is a compelling examination of how the United States public school system is built and operated like prisons. Zero-tolerance policies are used to justify suspension and arrests that set up a pathway to send children of color and children with special needs from school to prison. Children are being suspended, restrained, dragged, physically manhandled, and subsequently arrested for minor offenses such as throwing candy on a school bus. These personal accounts from people affected by the school-to-prison pipeline give riveting tales about the generational impact on society.
Whiteley (2017)
A visual journey into the life and legacy of one of Australia's most celebrated artists, Brett Whiteley.
Altamira: el origen del arte (2018)
A documentary to 'rediscover' the so called Sistine Chapel of Rock Art and to tell the story of the discovery of a cave and some paintings that astonished the world 138 years ago. Filming this documentary lead its director, José Luis López Linares, through many rock caves around the world, grasping information about the life of the Magdalenian man -who lived twenty thousand years ago- and about an art form, the paintings, that make Altamira "the Prado museum of prehistory".
Post New Bills: The Story of Green Patriot Posters (2014)
A short documentary illustrating how art can influence public perception towards environmental issues. Green Patriot Posters is a highly acclaimed multimedia design campaign that challenges artists to deepen public understanding and ignite collective action in the fight against climate change. So far, it has reached five million people through print media, public space and digital culture. The film features interviews with key Green Patriot Posters contributors (Shepard Fairey, Michael Bierut, DJ Spooky, Mathilde Fallot) and its founders (The Canary Project, Dmitri Siegel).
Moving Together (2023)
Moving Together is a celebratory love letter to music and dance that brims with kinetic life and energy. This documentary explores the intricate collaboration between dancers and musicians, moving seamlessly between Flamenco, Modern, and New Orleans Second Line.
Lino Tagliapietra: The Making of a Maestro (2020)
Lino Tagliapietra, considered by most as the greatest glassblower in history, is a mentor, motivator, and visionary. Bridging the divide between Italian and American glassblowing, Lino's career has transcended continents and inspired a new generation of glassblowers. Now 85, Lino continues to push the boundaries of the medium, testing the limits to see what both the material and the man can do.
Semi Colin (2012)
Challenging all notions of genre, Semi Colin is a living, breathing art installation. Part performance, part art, part social comment, Colin philosophizes on his life's obsessive work as an erotic artist.
Fold Crumple Crush: The Art of El Anatsui (2010)
A powerful portrait of Africa's most widely acclaimed contemporary artist El Anatsui. It gives an insider's view of the artist's practice, the ingenious steps and thousands of hours of labor that convert used bottle tops into huge, opulent wall hangings.